Santa's Refrigerator Peanut Butter Cookies (No Baking Required!)

As the eldest sibling in the family, certain roles fell to me. When I realised that Santa was not what I thought he was, then it was my job to keep the spirit alive with my sister. The Christmas after I found out "the secret" I woke her up the next day and told her that I had heard Santa visit the night before. "I heard the reindeer's bells!" I said.

It was true, I heard bells. But they were the bells on the collar of my cat. Oh well.

We were desperate to communicate with Santa when younger and my parents would occasionally let us leave out cookies or carrots for Santa and his reindeer. Sometimes they would even bite into the cookies or carrots, other times they'd forget and we'd wonder if the cookies weren't to Santa's taste (never underestimate the amount of time a child has to think about food or maybe that was just me). Other times they'd bin them as soon as went to sleep because they didn't want bugs or cockroaches. My parents are fastidious about that sort of thing.

I know that you might be snowed under with Christmas related tasks at the moment so I promise that these Santa cookie offerings are not in the slightest bit difficult. I found these on my friend Miranda's blog and they're an absolute cinch! An added bonus for us Antipodeans who have swelteringly hot Christmases, these do not require the services of your oven. They're cooked on the stovetop and do their final setting in the fridge.

After that you get a soft, chewy, sweet and slightly salty peanut butter cookie. They don't need to be stored in the fridge once they're set and to me they're a combination of a candy and a cookie (and about as dangerously addictive too!). The day after I made the first batch, I made a second batch this time with salted peanuts with them which I liked even better!

And should you be wanting to leave these out for Santa then by all means do! ;) Provided Santa doesn't have a nut allergy...

So tell me Dear Reader, how old were you when you found out "the secret"? And did you ever leave something out for Santa?

Refrigerator Peanut Butter Cookies (No Baking Required!)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Refrigeration time: 1 hour

Step 1 -

Boil the following in a saucepan:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2.65ozs/75g butter
• 1/8 tsp salt or to taste

Step 2 -

As soon as it boils allow it to boil for one minute and then add:

• 3/4 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup oat bran (you can use all oatmeal if you want)
• 1/2 cup/125g peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup salted peanuts

Step 3 -

Boil for another minute stirring constantly and making sure that no bits stick to the bottom of the pan. Taste for salt - peanut butter is salty and these cookies ideally have just the right amount of salt.

Step 4 -

Allow to cool for a minute or two while you line two trays with baking parchment. Take a tablespoon and scoop out a heaped tablespoon full and place on the tray. As the cookies cool, you can shape them so that they're more round.